Trip

I just took a whirlwind weekend trip to Boston for my friend A's baby shower. I was on the ground in Boston for less than 48 hours, and the total trip was around 60 hours including travel time, but it was totally worth it to a) attend the shower (especially since I'm unlikely to be able to visit for at least a few months after the baby is born) and b) not have to take any time off work (since I haven't got much PTO saved up yet and have two major trips planned for later in the year). Fortunately I got pretty nice weather, not too cold, just a little rain yesterday, and got to see a bunch of college friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in many years.

Because it was such a short trip, I didn't bother bringing my laptop -- although maybe I should have, because JetBlue now offers free wifi -- and I haven't get gotten in the habit of reading DW on my iPad -- although maybe I should; DW posting on iPad is not the greatest experience, but reading is just fine -- so I've been out of the loop for a few days. It's kind of exciting that I had to skip back 60 posts to see everything! But that still means a lot of skimming so if I missed anything huge, let me know!

Monday Media Musings - 1/27/20

Arrowverse update: Back to being a week behind. ( Batgirl, Supergirl, Arrow, Legends )

Big Little Lies, Season 2: I actually finished this in the prior week and forgot to write it up. Anyway, this was pretty good, although I'm unconvinced we truly needed a second season of this show. I can't even imagine what a third would look like. The final episode was my favorite -- it wrapped up everything neatly, maybe a little too neatly, but it all felt right. I've never been so eager to hate Meryl Streep, but she made a fantastic villain.

The Fault in Our Stars: I watched this on the plane home from Boston. I read and enjoyed the book when it first came out (I'm a fan of the Vlogbrothers from way back, although it's been a long time since I've kept up with their content in any meaningful way), but for whatever reason never got around to watching the movie. Given how recently I finished watching Big Little Lies, it was a little jarring to see Laura Dern and Shailene Woodley playing mother and daughter, but overall I enjoyed the movie. Basically the book ported to screen, very little changed from what I remember. Some good performances, decent chemistry between Gus and Hazel, although in some ways I found myself more interested in Hazel's relationship with her parents.

The Tick, Amazon Prime version: The Tick is one of the first comic books I ever loved, and among the first I ever bought for my own collection . Next came the 1990s cartoon, which if anything I liked even better, and then after that the FOX television show, starring Patrick Warburton as the title character, the role he was born to play. It only lasted 9 episodes, but it was, I felt, the ultimate interpretation, impossible to surpass. So even though I consider myself a huge fan (one year, for my birthday, my then-boyfriend actually gifted me with a Mystic Order of Arachnid Vigilance fan club kit -- I think I still have the spoon somewhere), I resisted watching the new Amazon Prime series. No one else could do the Tick justice; why should I even torment myself? But on this trip to Boston, I found myself on a plane where Prime was the only streaming service supported, and as I flipped around looking for something to watch, I figured I'd give it a try. And I am, so far, pleasantly surprised. I finished the first season and am now a few episodes into the second (and, so far, final), and although there are some notable differences from previous versions, it captures the tone and spirit quite well. And though I still prefer Warburton as the Tick, Peter Serafinowicz has definitely made the role his own in a way that really works, and he has excellent chemistry with Griffin Newman, who plays a very different Arthur from what we've seen before. I'm sad to hear that it's likely over and look forward to seeing the rest.